The footballing hegemony of the Premier League is debatable, but when it comes to going out on the market, English clubs have no rival. It does not matter if they are teams from the big six, from the middle of the table or recently promoted. Almost all of them have enough financial muscle to undertake multimillion-dollar operations that would be unthinkable for any modest club in the rest of the major leagues.
The last of them has Alexander Isak, Newcastle United and Real Sociedad as protagonists. The English will pay 70 million euros (plus five in variables) for the Swedish striker, who becomes the most expensive sale in the history of San Sebastián and Newcastle’s record signing, exceeding the 44 million paid by Joelinton in 2019.
It is an unexpected departure for everyone, except for the footballer himself, who has not spoken about his future since his return to San Sebastián on July 14, after the holidays. On Wednesday he trained with the rest of his teammates in a completely natural way, when El Diario Vasco published, after noon, the news of the agreement with Newcastle and his imminent departure. This sudden operation leaves Real Sociedad with full coffers, but in a very complicated situation, on the ropes due to the proximity of the closing of the market and with an urgent need to contract goals.
If already with Isak the team suffered to see the goal, without him the problem becomes even more serious. Last season’s numbers in this section are depressing: 40 goals in 38 games, the lowest figure among the top nine finishers. This start of the campaign was predicting more of the same. In two games, a narrow victory against Cádiz and a 1-4 defeat against Barça. In both games they created chances for more.
The question now is who will be able to take the place of the Swede and improve his effectiveness to help Real Sociedad raise their competitive ceiling. Some options that began to be considered in the media are those of Raúl de Tomás, who fits the profile and would be open to leaving the club; Enes Ünal, revelation last season; Umar Sadiq, who has been close to leaving Almería on several occasions; or the most special of all: the return of Antoine Griezmann. It would also be the most complicated financially, due to the Frenchman’s high record, but Atlético de Madrid would probably not oppose the sale of him and the footballer could recover sensations at home that saw him explode in the elite.
On the other hand, the ‘magpies’, bought in 2021 by a Saudi investment fund, have the money as punishment, and what seemed like a relatively quiet summer has taken a radical turn a few days after the market closed. So far, Sven Botman (central, 22 years old, 37 million euros), Matt Targett (lateral, 26 years old, 17.5 million euros) and Nick Pope (goalkeeper, 30 years old, 11.5 million euros) had arrived. ), this last savior in the tie harvested last weekend against Manchester City.
Although a significant expense, the Saudis’ capabilities augured much larger operations. Since its change of owners, there has been speculation about the signing of great stars and the creation of a ‘super team’ overnight. However, Newcastle’s strategy follows a very different and much more sustainable course, betting on young talents who are already proving their worth in the Premier League, such as Bruno Guimaraes; combined with experienced players without a big poster, but of a high level, such as Pope himself, Kieran Trippier or Callum Wilson. It is true that the signing of Isak requires a great economic effort, but it follows the same strategic line as the others.
Isak arrived in Zubieta three seasons ago. Then he was a 19-year-old boy who was beginning to stand out at Borussia Dortmund, thanks to the combination of his physical abilities with a technical finesse that aroused comparisons with his legendary compatriot, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. During this time he had ups and downs, and surely he did not reach the expectations that were placed on him. However, he was a fundamental piece in winning the 2020 Copa del Rey, the club’s first title since 1987 (in addition to the Second Division in 2010), and played an important role in qualifying for Europe. He leaves after 132 games, leaving 44 goals and eight assists.
